I’m not usually a pu erh tea drinker but I saw the lovely label from Kelly Puissegur on the Yiwu Spring 2016 blend from Bitterleaf Teas and had to give it a go. This is a limited run of tea, so you won’t be able to get this exact blend anymore, but the same tea harvest for 2017 can be found in the year of the rooster blend.

This tea starts off like many of my past pu erh tea sessions. The scents are intense and fermented, and off-putting to me as a prelude for something I’m about to taste. The aroma isn’t bad exactly, in fact with smells like old books or leather or wet grass, I find the flavors to be nostalgic and dreamy; they just aren’t something I’d personally want to smell right before I take a sip.

I steeped this tea over the course of a session, brewing several times. Before I even tasted it, I stepped for 1 minute in 200F water to rinse and let the leaves open up. After that I steeped for increasing 5 second intervals.

The first brew had the typical hay barn scent I expect, but less fermented and much more fresh. Almost like green grapes or wet peony flowers. The brightness in the first steep was a pleasant surprise.

In the second steep there was more white tea buttery earthiness, but still the green grapes and peony came through on the aftertaste. The tea is very smooth on the tongue.

In the third steep the hay scent was more gentle and the overall flavors were more relaxed. The brew was sweeter almost like cacao earth tones and smooth honey floral flavors, paired with a very pleasant caramelly mouthfeel.

On the fourth steep and beyond, the tea still holds up the fresh grape and peony tones, but eventually the earthy cacao flavors end up taking over.

I’m not a pu erh expect but this tea took me by surprise and contained pleasantly complex flavors that I wasn’t expecting. Be bold and try one of Bitterleaf Teas’ pu erh harvests for your next brew.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Pu erh

Description:

This Yiwu raw puer is one of our two Year of the Monkey puers. The material for this tea comes from a recently transitioned fang yang (literally meaning “left to grow”) garden that receives minimal human interference, to the extent that all weeding is done once a year by hand (taking up to one month) and is harvested only in the Spring. The tea itself has an initial and surprising honey-like sweetness at the front, which yields to some slight roughness and unique lasting aroma. With good cha qi/tea energy and a solid mineral fragrance that lingers, this is a strong candidate for storage.

Typical of Yiwu teas, this one is on the softer side of things for now, but still maintains a solid backbone with plenty to offer. This also makes it a very drinkable young raw puer, and well suited for beginners and experienced drinkers alike. Don’t be fooled though, Yiwu teas tend to age well, even if they seem lighter in their early years.

Growing up, I drank herbal teas like fresh ginger tea during New England's harsh winters and iced blueberry tea during its humid summers. Over time, I was tempted into trying a wider variety of loose leaf teas by the fandom-themed blends available online. I have since gone on to design my own blends, and I greatly enjoy drafting up flavor ideas and drawing tea labels.
When I'm not thinking about tea I can be found reading novels and comic books, playing video games, or watching movies; my favorite genres being history, humor, sci-fi, and fantasy.
Generally, I prefer bold teas: spicy chais, rich black teas, even smoky lapsang souchong on occasion. But I have also dabbled in herbal rooibos, flavored oolongs, and traditional matcha. I'm glad to be expanding my palette by tasting and reviewing new teas and blends.
Find me on Steepster: http://steepster.com/A2shedsjackson
Fandom blends: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=292149

After sampling at least 5 of Bitterleaf’s teas I guess it’s about time I declared myself one of their fans! Giant White Moonlight 2015 Spring Jing Gu Tea from Bitterleaf is considered an “anytime tea” and I agree for the most part. Personally, I look for a ‘smack you in the face’ sort of strong tea first thing in the morning but any other time this one will certainly do well!

Giant White Moonlight 2015 Spring Jing Gu Tea from Bitterleaf has tri-colored long leaves. The aroma while dry is incredibly crisp . Once infused there is a hint of sweetness to the nose.

As for the taste on the tongue – Giant White Moonlight 2015 Spring Jing Gu Tea from Bitterleaf – is pretty incredible! It’s delicate yet delightful! It has a sweeter-floral flavor but it’s hydrating and almost naturally fruity in a mysterious way!

As a white tea I really love this. It’s a Yunnan White, too, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I like this as much as I do. Giant White Moonlight 2015 Spring Jing Gu Tea from Bitterleaf is awesome!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: White Tea

Where to Buy: Bitterleaf

Description:

A great “anytime” tea, this exclusive to Yunnan white tea is both light and delicate, but with a wild spirit. An early vegetal taste develops into a subtle sweetness with subsequent brewings. Drink it now, or store it for the future, as this is a white tea that is particularly suitable for aging.

Click here for more information about this tea and brewing instructions.

Co-Founder/Co-Creator of Sororitea Sisters at Sororitea Sisters
Jennifer (TeaEqualsBliss) is in her upper 30s and lives in the eastern snowbelt area of the US with her husband, 3 dogs, and cat (however the number of furkids can change at anytime as she LOVES providing a forever home for many shelter animals. Her several interests include music, movies, veganism, sports, traveling, collecting Baseball Cards and Unicorns, Radio, Computers, Crafting, and of course…TEA. She started drinking tea at the tender age of 3 thanks to her Grandmother and her love for tea has gotten stronger with each year! In addition to being a co-founder/co-creator of Sororitea Sisters - her main site is MyBlissfulJourney.com. Find out more about Jennifer on MyBlissfulJourney.com.

Firebird 2015 Fenghuang Dancong Songzhong Oolong from Bitterleaf is really something special! It has a crustiness or bakey-like flavor to it – much like some of the more bakey black teas I enjoy but with the leaf of an oolong! The product description says it’s ‘the closest thing they’ve experienced to drinking a sticky bun’. I was intrigued at that statement. However I didn’t have that exact experience – I did still have a wonderful sipping experience regardless!

Having said that Firebird 2015 Fenghuang Dancong Songzhong Oolong from Bitterleaf is slightly sweet and does have that touch of natural caramel goodness laying underneath while still providing a VERY strong crustiness to the sip and I find that amazingly wonderful!

For kicks I decided to add a few pure sugar crystals to this – which I almost NEVER do – but I had them on hand. By doing so I found that Firebird 2015 Fenghuang Dancong Songzhong Oolong from Bitterleaf taste a bit more like the ‘sticky bun’ nod the product description claimed.

The natural honey-like aftertaste is something that certainly lingers on to the aftertaste. This is a really interesting offering from Bitterteas and I’m honored to have tried it!

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Oolong Tea

Where to Buy: Bitterleaf

Tea Description:

One of our first two selections from the world of oolong, our Firebird Song Zhong Dancong is medium oxidized with a roasted sweetness. With honey and caramel as the most prominent flavours, this tea is about the closest thing we’ve experienced to drinking a sticky bun. The soup brews also out a clear honey-orange, but no actual honey was added, we swear.

Co-Founder/Co-Creator of Sororitea Sisters at Sororitea Sisters
Jennifer (TeaEqualsBliss) is in her upper 30s and lives in the eastern snowbelt area of the US with her husband, 3 dogs, and cat (however the number of furkids can change at anytime as she LOVES providing a forever home for many shelter animals. Her several interests include music, movies, veganism, sports, traveling, collecting Baseball Cards and Unicorns, Radio, Computers, Crafting, and of course…TEA. She started drinking tea at the tender age of 3 thanks to her Grandmother and her love for tea has gotten stronger with each year! In addition to being a co-founder/co-creator of Sororitea Sisters - her main site is MyBlissfulJourney.com. Find out more about Jennifer on MyBlissfulJourney.com.

I… have an addiction. Yes, I admit it freely. The second I discover a straight tea that tastes of honey, I am on that stuff like a cat to catnip, and will drink it obsessively until my stash disappears. So! When the lovely CuppaGeek offered me a sample of Bitterleaf Tea’s Firebird 2015 oolong, I was ALL over that. Instantly. According to the folks at Bitterleaf, this tea has a “honey-like sweetness and is closest thing they’ve ever experienced to drinking a sticky bun”. With these leaves hailing from Feng Huang Chao Zhou, the birthplace of dan cong oolong, I knew I was in for a serious treat.

In order to unlock the maximum flavor of this tea, Bitterleaf suggests that I use “spring or remineralized water with 30-80 ppm total dissolved mineral solids”. Now, I unfortunately seemed to have left my analytical chemistry lab back in college, and do not buy bottled water, so I will just be using good ol’ tap water.

Brewing instructions for this tea cannot be found on the package itself- one must visit Bitterleaf’s website and do a bit of rooting around to find this information. They suggest using a flash rinse method to best enjoy the tea- however, since I don’t have quite enough leaves to be able to do so, used a longer 30 second steep in my gaiwan for each brew.

Despite my tea likely having less of a ‘potent’ flavor than it should due to my steeping method, and having a relatively light color, I was still quite impressed by the robust nature of this oolong. The brew is very sweet and pleasantly full bodied without being bitter, with an added complexity of smokiness that I’d expect from a dancong oolong. The aftertaste leaves those notes of sweet honey to linger for a while longer, keeping a smile on my face long after the last of the tea disappeared from my cup.

I really enjoyed Firebird 2015, and could only imagine the honey-hazed stupor I would find myself in for several days if I had a full tin of this tea. Bitterleaf clearly curates their tea with care, and I am excited to discover what else this company has to offer!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Oolong

Where to Buy: Bitterleaf Teas

Description

Our Firebird Dancong is a delicious medium oxidized oolong, grown in Chao Zhou, near the North-East corner of Guangdong province. This Song Zhong variety of oolong has a honey-like sweetness that translates into a honey-coloured soup, and quite possibly the closest thing we’ve experience to drinking a sticky bun. It is fragrant and sweet with a slightly roasted taste.

If you are a fan of JASMINE you shouldn’t pass up Silver Egret 2015 Spring Heng Xian Silver Tip Jasmine Green Tea because it’s some of the most INTENSE natural, straight-up Jasmine I have ever had!

Having said that…Silver Egret 2015 Spring Heng Xian Silver Tip Jasmine Green Tea from Bitterleaf is top-notch in every way! They use only the tips and use only REAL Jasmine and Magnolia Flowers in this offering.

The tips are light, fluffy, delicate, and fuzzy! Once infused – Silver Egret 2015 Spring Heng Xian Silver Tip Jasmine Green Tea from Bitterleaf – is VERY clean, clear, and crisp! This is extremely fresh! It has an intense Jasmine aroma and taste that I won’t be forgetting any time soon.

I tried Silver Egret 2015 Spring Heng Xian Silver Tip Jasmine Green Tea from Bitterleaf both hot and cold. Both make fine cups! I think I prefer this iced, personally!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green Tea

Description:

Our Silver Egret 2015 Spring Jasmine Green Tea, along with our Pearl Buds Jasmine, are currently our only non-Yunnan teas on offer and technically also our only green teas at the moment. Produced in Yunnan’s neighbor province of Guangxi using Zhe Jiang green tea, these teas come from the largest Jasmine Flower producing region of China, Heng Xian. A complex and labour intensive tea to make, this large tip-only green Jasmine tea is elegantly perfumed with the scent of both Jasmine flowers and Yulan Magnolia. By employing a scenting process that involves lining the bottom with Yulan Magnolia and the top with Jasmine flower, a balanced and complimentary flavor is achieved.

This tea is extremely refreshing, with a pleasant, cooling aftertaste. We recommend brewing this tea a little lighter in order to enjoy the subtle sweetness without being too overwhelmed by the floral scent.

Co-Founder/Co-Creator of Sororitea Sisters at Sororitea Sisters
Jennifer (TeaEqualsBliss) is in her upper 30s and lives in the eastern snowbelt area of the US with her husband, 3 dogs, and cat (however the number of furkids can change at anytime as she LOVES providing a forever home for many shelter animals. Her several interests include music, movies, veganism, sports, traveling, collecting Baseball Cards and Unicorns, Radio, Computers, Crafting, and of course…TEA. She started drinking tea at the tender age of 3 thanks to her Grandmother and her love for tea has gotten stronger with each year! In addition to being a co-founder/co-creator of Sororitea Sisters - her main site is MyBlissfulJourney.com. Find out more about Jennifer on MyBlissfulJourney.com.